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SL Xpress

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Everything posted by SL Xpress

  1. 50 second video of Ukrainian sniper taking out Russian troops one by one:
  2. That is astounding to me. Here's an article from The Guardian about it. Nammo is co-owned by the Norwegian government. Power is allocated on a first come first served basis: "Elvia, the local energy provider, confirmed to the Financial Times that the electricity network had no spare capacity after allocating it to the data centre on a first-come, first-served basis. Additional capacity would take time to become available." I read about the lack of explosives having an impact on artillery shell production. Now this. I especially like his comment, "Our future growth is challenged by the storage of cat videos." https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/mar/28/energy-hungry-tiktok-data-centre-ukraine-ammunition-production-nammo-norway
  3. Yeah, I spent some time in both places, too. And I've had an obsession with Iran for a long long time after my grandfather ran the Shah's helicopter base in Isfahan for 3 years. I was able to spend time in Dubai in the early 90s before it was modernized. It was pretty great back then. I bought a metric ton of Persian rugs. Had a great time buying the flat bread straight out of the clay ovens built on most corners. Their cement was shit because they made it out of the local sand. Crumbling buildings everywhere that weren't any older than 20 years. I hate it now. And people are fooled by it. Plenty of horror stories about what they're really like. Import their labor. Practically serfdom. Women's rights are non existent, even for foreigners. You do not want to be a foreign woman running afoul of the authorities there. It's not what it seems on the surface. The Arabs are historically nomads. The Persians are descendants from one of the great classic civilizations. The Persians are frankly somewhat contemptuous about Arabs. Turks are too, for that matter. I just don't know about the F-16 thing. I could see F-35s, though. But if you know something about them acquiring F-16s I'll defer to you. It's really only guessing on my part. BTW, I don't know that the analogy of Arabs to Israel as Russia is to the west fits. I'm trying to wrack my brain, but I don't think I'm going to be able to come up with an antagonism with the same historical depth of Arabs to Israel. Greeks and Turks have a long history. I guess Ukraine and Russia could fit, especially as I read from Ukrainians who point out how long and how far Russia has gone to wipe them out over the past 500 years or so. Hindus and Muslims? Separated by British rule, but lots of historical antagonism there. But that still wouldn't match Arabs and Israelis. Obviously it's different because of the creation of the state of Israel. Hard to compare something to that. I do not believe that rich Arabs who send their kids to Europe have kids who automatically think that Jews are A-Ok. I do think that the philosophy of "an enemy of my enemy is my friend" has no better breeding ground than the middle east, so countries will make peace and even be friendly with Israel for selfish purposes. But I don't think it changes fundamentally the view of a massive majority of the Arab population. At least the muslim arabs. I've always found Maronites and Coptics to have a different view, for example.
  4. The article I linked stated the UAE already ordered 80 Rafale F4s, and that the move of the Mirage 2000-9s is expected because of that. The UAE is a bit of an interesting country anyway, with a lot of independence and competition between Dubai and Abu Dhabi, which are practically run more like city states than part of a united country. Do you feel like UAE wants to integrate with the Israeli Air Force? Because I’ve never had that impression. I don’t think there’s a populace in the entire Middle East that if push came to shove wouldn’t mind if the Israelis suddenly disappeared, other than they’d then be missing a valuable low hanging fruit to unite their populations.
  5. Well, I do believe they’re getting the Abrams in the fall. If you listen to the Poles, they have some major complaints with how Germany supplies spare parts for the Leopard. I’m sure pretty much the entire German military complex is ramping up as much as they can, but it may be both Ukraine and Poland are better served by the Abrams’ long term.
  6. Here’s an article from last year explaining those aren’t your typical Mirage 2000-9’s. Two days before Russia’s invasion, so Ukraine isn’t seen as one of the 3 recipients of those jets once UAE modernizes their Air Force with the new French jet fighter. https://www.forbes.com/sites/pauliddon/2022/02/28/who-will-get-the-uaes-mirage-2000-9-fighters/?sh=64ae9d65623b The thing is, this seems surprising to me. It’s not unfathomable, but this would be a big escalation in terms of weapons given. The UAE is not seen as being particulariy pro Ukraine. If anything they’ve been helping Russia (really helping themselves through profiteering( get around sanctions. The French populace is embarking on widespread demonstrations - sometimes violent - in regards to domestic politics. In polling the French are relatively indifferent about the war in Ukraine when compared to everyone other than Italians. The government isn’t known for taking brave and risky chances in terms of how they support Ukraine, although they’ve certainly been supportive. Macron and his party are known as being staunchly pro European, and even pan European. But a transaction like this still seems out of character for everyone involved. Not impossible, but it would be a major shift in certain ways from folks not known for major shifts.
  7. Probably the first thing they need to work on is not admitting they made a fake video. Like the UAF soldier said, “We are lucky they are stupid.”
  8. The 14 Challenger 2 tanks are now in Ukraine: https://kyivindependent.com/ministry-first-challenger-tanks-in-ukraine/ One of the interesting things in the article is the mention of US Cougar vehicles. I hadn't heard about them being donated previously. I'm sure they'll all be operated by the younger men of the UAF.
  9. I don't want someone who was arrested for felonious domestic assault coaching any of UT's teams. That doesn't seem virtuous. That seems like some kind of floor for the standards of the job. I don't want coaches who slept with their players while they were playing for them, either. If coaches around the country were getting arrested left and right and taken to jail for felony assault, then having the charges dropped later, maybe I'd change my tune. But he's the only one. The ONLY one. I can think he's one of the top 5 coaches in college basketball and still find it necessary that he was fired without feeling like UT has its halo on too tight. Tailspins are corrected by hiring the right guy. If Terry isn't it the UT men's basketball program isn't falling into the ocean. They'll give it another go the next time. That's how this works. I'm curious in the future to see how many truly great teams there are in college basketball. Someone with a vision, a system, and the ability to build a staff and roster that fits that vision is going to be more important than someone who can get the best players, IMO. The Sir Jabari Rice's of the world are going to continue to become more and more important in the future. The Final Four (and the Elite Eight) is filled with them. The right hire can turn things around in a single season, to be honest. I don't see the hire of Terry as doom and gloom, even if I don't think he's going to succeed in the end. He helped give us a magical season. IMO, he and this staff have earned the right to see what they can do together, regardless of my speculation as to how it will eventually turn out. Goodness knows I've been wrong plenty of times before.
  10. We're working with different definitions then. If he goes on to win multiple national championships and becomes a hall of fame coach, meanwhile Texas only reaches the Sweet 16 once every 15 years, I'd call that him being bigger than the program. He'd go down as an all time great, meanwhile the men's basketball program would be stuck in a quagmire of underwhelming results based on the resources available. I'm not saying that's going to happen. I am saying it could. Not sure I'm alive to see it regardless, so not sure how much it matters, really.
  11. I guess. We'll see how it goes. I think he's an amazing basketball coach, and if he doesn't implode, I feel quite confident that's going to be borne out. We'll get a first hand look at it since we'll be in the same conference.
  12. I know I'm a proselytizer, but more folks should pay attention to women's volleyball, IMO. Last year was so much fun. This year won't be the same kind of juggernaut, but they'll be a top 5 team. Gregory Gym is crazy for home matches. People like different sports for different reasons, but for me volleyball is a fun sport to watch. And it helps that we win a lot. But yeah, this team was a lot of fun to follow. Every Texas team that made it to the Elite Eight (5) has created a ton of special memories for me. I wish we'd just do it more often. From 2002 to 2008 I thought that's what Texas basketball was going to be for the rest of my life. The last 15 years have been extraordinarily disappointing for the most part until this season.
  13. You're not the first person to post this. They're not together any more. I know this for a fact. I don't know why people keep assuming they are. I understand there hasn't been a press release about it, but it's obvious he was in the process of moving on from the relationship when the fight occurred. It was a huge contributing factor. Not as big of a contributing factor as Beard's idiocy, but a contributing factor nonetheless. My main point is that people should quit assuming they're still together. They absolutely are not. 100%.
  14. Maybe. But he's the one most responsible for the Elite Eight season we just had in only a year and a half on the job. Only the 5th one since the NCAA went to the 64 team format 40 years ago. Unless he flounders in some way, or Texas makes an amazing hire (maybe Rodney Terry), it could very well be that Beard ends up being bigger than the program.
  15. Also hard to find a talented big who can switch. That was the biggest issue. Texas looked at some guys, but if you couldn't switch, you weren't coming to Texas.
  16. Here's an interview with Logan Eggleston about her experiences as a pro in Turkey thus far. It's conducted by Brooke Nuneviller, the Oregon star who also just went pro in Turkey at about the same time Logan did. Madi Kubik from Nebraska is also on the interview, talking about her experiences as a pro in Puerto Rico. Brooke has been doing a series of these for Volleyball magazine, including one where she interviews all time Texas great and Olympic gold medalist Chiaka Ogbogu, but this is her best one because the others she's interviewing veterans, but this one she's interviewing two other players who are in the same boat as her. Nothing really about Texas per se in here. It's really all about what they're experiencing as pros, and what an adjustment it's been: https://volleyballmag.com/pro-volleyball-life-abroad-with-brooke-nuneviller-logan-eggleston-madi-kubik-032523/
  17. So after tonight, there will be one team left from the top 12 teams entering the tournament. I've been to a number of forums for different basketball schools. The most overused statement I see is, "if only we could have won that game our path was wide open!" No fucking shit, sherlock. EVERYONE'S path is wide open!
  18. "Gurley could sell his paintings for thousands!" About a guy making millions every year.
  19. Here's a good one from yougov.org I'd prefer to see something that shows changes over time, if there are any, but it still shows how high the indifference is about the war among the French compared to other European countries: https://today.yougov.com/topics/international/articles-reports/2023/02/24/one-year-european-and-american-attitudes-war-ukrai I should be clear that while I think of polling as important, I also feel like they're widely over remarked upon. They're treated almost like scorecards most of the time, when there are way too many variables that goes into composing them. Nonetheless, I do like reading about them, even if I don't put as much importance in them as others do. The best ones are the organizations that conduct polls on a consistent basis around certain topics, and ask the same questions each time. I like seeing how views change according to these polls. It's much more informative to me.
  20. It's interesting to me that on a long enough time line, the diminishment of Russia could be a disadvantage to the West because it empowers China, and China under their current system of government is a bigger threat over the long term than Russia is. At the same time in the near term Russia has made a full scale invasion of a neighboring European country, and so this makes me laugh. China is going to take complete advantage of Russia's situation. No doubt about it. That's what I was telling a bunch of people a couple of days ago who simply watch the news and were pseudo fearful of China and Russia "getting together." There's no getting together here. There's China preparing Russia for butt sex with no lube, and not even a reach around.
  21. Yes. I'll see if I can find some. There are polls for pretty much every European countries, and a lot of non western ones as well. Paris has a lot of domestic politics that are playing a bigger role than Ukraine right now. Edit: Here's an article about the presidential race, although not specifically about French support for Ukraine specifically. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/28/france-election-2022-macron-heads-polls-but-ukraine-overshadows-the-debate.html
  22. Back at you. I'm very appreciative of everyone contributing to this thread. Too many to name, I'll just forget someone. I enjoy reading everyone's thoughts on the conflict. And about their brother's thoughts, too!
  23. Or any night for the past 6 years. He had all the power in that relationship, other than pussy is undefeated, which is admittedly a big exception to make. Still, while I understand her actions contributed to the situation, I blame this entire ordeal on Chris Beard. Not saying she didn't contribute, but it was his choices that ultimately led to his dismissal. Not her's.
  24. I think it's fairer to say he was a complicated person. But he was absolutely fraudulent. He's the Bob Wheeler of this war. He definitely put himself out there as something he was not, and he definitely stole money.
  25. This article is so heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. It's about a couple of combat medics deployed at a stabilization center in a dingy basement just a few clicks away from the front lines. Well worth a read: https://kyivindependent.com/national/i-work-then-i-cry-exhausted-medics-near-bakhmut-fight-for-every-life
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